Seal.



R. A. EDGAR.

SEAL.

APPLICATION man JAN. 18. 1915.

1,140,133 I Patente d' 1 9 1915.

9 N gkv A TTORNEYS FFIC.

ROBERT A. EDGAR, OF CARLYLE, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR 0F TWO-FIFTHS TO JARED C.

HADLEY, OF CHANUTE, KANSAS.

SEAL.

' Application filed January 18, 1915. 'sen'ai No. 2,828.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT A. EDGAR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Carlyle, in the county of Allen and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Seals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in seals, and has for its object to provide a seal adapted for use in sealing cars, and of simple yet eflicient construction, and arranged to be used with the ordinary securing hasp and staple and to be passed through the stap1e,outside of the hasp, and when bentand folded upon itself in such manner that it cannot be detached without breaking the same, and thus indlcating clearly to all concerned that it has been tampered with.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved seal extended, Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the first oper ation of attaching, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the completely folded seal, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on.

the line 44 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows adjacent to the line.

The present invention is an lmprovement over my prior.Patent #933,700, dated Sept. 7, 1909, and the seal is in the form of a strlp 1 of suitable material, as for instance, flat wire, metal, or the like, and the strlp has one end reducedto form a tongue 2, shoulders 3 being formed between the reduced portion or tongue and the body of the strip, the said shoulders being perpendicular to the long axis of the seal as shown Near its inner end the tongue 1s reduced by notching its side edges as indicated at 4, and- 'near its opposite end the str1p 1s provided with a transverse slot 8 of suflicient width to receive the tongue 2 and the end of the strip adjacent to the slot is notched deeply and longitudinally as shown at 9. The notch is of the same Width from end to end, and is adapted to recelve the tongue at the notches 4 as will be later described. Some'identifying mark may be provided on the seal, as for instance,a series of numerals 10 and preferably the numerals are ar: ranged on the tongue between the outer end thereof and the notches 4. l

In use, the body of the str1p is passed through the staple 6 outside of the hasp 11 and the strip is doubled upon itself at a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1915.

point about half way between the shoulders 3 and the slot 8. The arrangement is such that when the strip is folded as above stated and the tongue is passed through the slot the notches 4 will be at the recess 9 and near the bottom and after the tongue has been passed through the slot as shown in Fig. 2, it is bent back upon the body of the strip as shown in Fig. 3, and the identifying mark 10 is so placed that it will be outward when the tongue is folded back upon the body of the strip from the recess 9.

'The notches 4 permit the tongue to pass through the recess and to be folded back as shown, and the notches 4 are for the pur-. pose of weakening the tongue at this point to such a degree that when once bent as shown in Fig. 3, the tongue cannot be unbent or returned to original position without breaking off that portion of the strip on the outer side of the notches.

' It will be evident from the description that the improved seal may be manufactured at a very low cost and that because of its form they may be easily transported and may be stored in small compass. They are easily applied to thecar, since no tools are required, all of the operation necessary in applying the seal being capable of performance by the fingers alone.

The special function of a seal of this character is to indicate in some manner when it has been tampered with. the fact of such tampering. The improved seal will 7 indicate this perfectly, since that portion of the tongue outside of the notches 4 will be broken away, should there be any attempt to straighten the said, portion sufficient to permit it to be drawn backwardly through the slot.

It will be understood that this portion of the tongue must be bent into practical alinement with the body of the strip before it I can be withdrawn through the slot 8 after ends of the extensions 13 are spaced apart from the outer ends of the extensions 12 and the strip is recessed at this point as indicated at 14, the notches 14 extending inwardly to a point about even With the ends of the slot 8.

It may be considered that from inside the notch 8 to the adjacent end the strip is enlarged laterally to form a head at the said end for the purpose of strengthening or reinforcing the strip at this point and that the head is notched at 14 for the following purpose, namely, to preclude the possibility of cutting through the corner between the corner and the adjacent end of the slot 8 t0 permit the portion outside the slit to be bent back in order to' slip the seal out laterally.

Were this done, the seal might be replaced and the cut portions might be moved back into the same plane to hide the cut and leave the seal apparently normal. With the notches 14 however, this cutting would not be feasible. With the notches 14 a portion of the strip would necessarily be cut away. It is obvious that the improved seal might be of any desired material. lhe flexible nature of the seal makes the body of the same strength throughout between the shoulders 3 and the enlargements 1213.

I claim 1. A seal, comprising a strip of sheet me ias metal, having one end reduced laterally to form a tongue, and the said tongue being notched at each side edge near its inner end, the strip having near the opposite end a transverse slot ior permitting the passage of the tongue, andhaving a notch extend ing longitudinally of thestrip at the end adjacent to the slot, said notch being of less Width than the tongue, the tongue being reduced to permit it to pass through the notch.

2. A seal, comprising a strip having one end reduced laterally to form a tongue, and having near the opposite end a transverse slot for permitting the passage of the tongue, the tongue being adapted to be passed through the slot and bent around the adjacent end of the strip back upon the body of the strip, the said end of the strip being notched and the notch being of less width than the mtongue and the tongue being notched at-its opposite side edges to permit it to pass through the notch at the end of the strip, said strip bein notched at each side between the slot an the inner end of the recess at the end of the strip.

ROBERT A. EDGAR. Witnesses:

FRANK E. SMITH, M. J. BULGER. 

